Men, Their Mothers, and Food

Ask a man about his mother and inevitably he will talk about the food she cooked for him when he was growing up. For men from immigrant backgrounds mom’s cooking often has added significance because it connects them both to their memories of home and to the country where they or their parents came from.

We asked the hosts of About Men Radio to tell us about dishes they learned to cook from their mothers that take inspiration from their immigrant roots. Then we teamed up with our friends at Cowbird to bring you these wonderful multimedia stories.

Listen to Chris Mele’s story – A Man, A Can, and A Plan

And here is Pedro Rafael Rosado with an homage to a classic Puerto Rican dish. His story is called Pernil is the Ultimate.

About Jocelyn Gonzales

Jocelyn Gonzales, Technical Director and Senior Producer, is a freelance radio producer in New York City. Her work has been featured on WNYC News, Studio 360, Soundcheck, Marketplace, Weekend America, Sound Money, Radiolab, Musicians Radio, Ear Studio, the Bowery Poetry Club, Minnesota Public Radio, Strange Music and Re:Sound. She was part of the team that created Studio 360, and she was the producer for Dish, Now Hear This! and The Conversation on WNYC. Jocelyn is a full-time faculty member at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in the sound design department, and was the principal advisor to the campus radio station, WNYU AM/FM, for several years. She is also a podcast producer at The New York Times.